The San Jose Sharks got a nice surprise when they got the second-overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft. While the New Jersey Devils failed to move up in the NHL Draft Lottery, the Sharks got the number-two overall pick. It changed their trajectory. There are two great players in this draft, but the weird thing is, the Sharks might not take either one of them.
See, the Sharks want a defenseman, and this is an interesting draft for defenseman. There is no clear number-one defenseman prospect this year. Chase Reid, Keaton Verheoff, and Carson Carels could all be the first defenseman taken. However, neither is the talent level of Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg.
That might be why the rumor mill has been saying that the Sharks are open to trading the pick for the right price.
The Devils can match that price. The Sharks want young defensemen. Enter Simon Nemec.
The former second-overall pick is looking for a new contract this offseason. However, the Devils might not be willing to pay up for the talent.
A New Jersey Devils-San Jose Sharks trade makes too much sense
Despite his draft pedigree, Nemec alone isn’t worth the Devils trading up from 12 to 2. They could add Dougie Hamilton, whom the Sharks tried to trade for last offseason. Hamilton blocked the trade then, but he might be more open to a trade after a tumultuous season with the franchise. Hamilton was incredible to end the year, upgrading his value, but the Devils probably need to eat some of his contract to make it work. Retaining $2 million per season would really help the Sharks.
There probably needs to be one more piece to make this work. It has to be a significant piece that likely impacts the NHL. We’re thinking one of the Devils’ bottom six players or close-to-ready prospects. Someone on the list of Paul Cotter, Marc McLaughlin, Charlie Leddy, Ben Kevan, Shane Lachance, or Maxim Tsyplakov could push the Sharks over the top.
The Devils would try to avoid trading Lenni Hameenaho, but would they really say no to the trade if that was the final piece? We think Sunny Mehta would make it happen if they had to.
So, the final trade looks like this:
It's an aggressive package, but the Devils get the one piece they really need. Ivar Stenberg would give the Devils a long-term winger for Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier, something they've been searching for every year. The Sharks get multiple long-term defensemen, and they also get a middle-six forward with upside. On top of that, they still get a first-round pick.
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